Staff

David Darling

David Darling was born in Elkhart, Indiana, was tutored on piano from the age of four and began to study cello at ten. David's career began as an elementary and secondary school teacher and conductor of band and orchestra, specializing in cello and bass. He later taught music and served as orchestra conductor and faculty cellist at Western Kentucky University. While at Indiana State College he began to consider the potential of the cello in improvised music.

In 1969 David joined the Grammy Award-winning Paul Winter Consort, a progressive band for its time whose sound blended jazz with Brazilian, African, Indian and other world music. During his eight-year stint as soloist, composer and vocalist with the Consort, Darling was exposed at length to ensemble and solo improvisation.

Since leaving the Consort in 1978, he has dedicated himself to a solo performing and recording career, and to teaching music and improvisation. David's solo albums and recording collaborations represent a worldview of musical genres.

In 1986 he co-founded with Bonnie Insull, Music for People, a
non-profit educational network dedicated to teaching and fostering improvisation as a means of creative self-expression. David Darling's unconventional, playful teaching style has helped open the world of music and improvisation to thousands.

For the past fourteen years, Darling has worked for Young Audiences, Inc., a National Medal of the Arts award-winning organization dedicated to enriching children's lives by providing
in-school programs, classroom workshops, artists’ residencies and performances. David Darling was presented with the 1995 Artist of the Year Award in recognition of his hard work, innovations and creativity in the service of arts-in-education.

Darling has collaborated on performances and recordings with more than three dozen other musicians, among them: Paul Winter Consort, Bobby McFerrin, Spyro Gyra, Arlo Guthrie, Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai -- also including Peter, Paul and Mary;
Tai Ji master Chungliang Al Huang; Ralph Towner; Jon Christensen; Jan Garbarek; Dino Saluzzi; Terje Rypdal; Ketil Bjornstad; the Nickolais-Louis Dance Theater, and the innovative dance ensemble, Pilobolus. His collaboration with Nakai and Kater, an album entitled "Migration," was named 1992 New Age Album of the Year by the National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD).

Darling contributed to the musical score of German director Wim Wenders' film "Until the End of the World" and was a featured solo improvisor on the Wenders film "Far Away, So Close." Other film credits include music for Jean-Luc Godard's classic "Nouvelle Vague," the 1996 movies "Heat" and "Mostly Mozart," and recently a US National Park Service film "Canyonlands."
Recently David has worked with Peter Kater, Patrick Leonard, Coleman Barks, the Bunon tribe of Taiwan, Hearts of Space, Wind Over The Earth, The Relaxation Company and numerous musicians in his home studio. He recently created Blue Adagio Music where he produces CDs for other artists.

David continues to travel the world extensively teaching, playing and encouraging self-expression through music. His 2001 CD Release "Cello Blue" was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best New Age Album" category. David’s release “Prayer for Compassion” won the 2009 Grammy for Best New Age Album of the Year! He can be reached at David@musicforpeople.org.

 

Julie Weber

Julie WeberJulie Weber Is a graduate of and is 
the current Chairperson of
the Musicianship and Leadership Program (MLP) for Music for People.  Her deep love of and curiosity about sound continues to lead her into various paths in a life centered on music and the arts.  She has 32 years
of experience as a music educator and children's choral director.

She was in the vanguard of women involved in the medium of electronic music, also teaching 7 years at the graduate level in an original, now vintage, Moog Electronic Music Studio.  She was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and Creative Artist Public Service grants for Multimedia Performance and Music Composition.  For a number of years she was involved in the Avant-Garde Music Scene composing electronic music, creating multimedia performance pieces and unique concert experiences, composing for modern theater and dance, including, Robert Wilson's "Deafman Glance" and electronic music for dance film aired on national public television. Julie is a pianist, composer, electronic musician and innovative educator.

She is currently involved in composing, performing, recording, giving private sessions and facilitating workshops. These workshops in community building, personal growth, going deeper into one's
musicianship, and expressing one's musical self through improvisation, integrate the philosophies of Music for People with her own.

The way she moves through a room, inviting you to listen, to play, and be moved by the present moment has been described as "a moment of pure Zen" "Before you know it, you'll be transported to a place that is both playful and profoundly creative.  I'm always amazed at the music that comes out of her workshops!"  
She believes that providing a supportive environment for these process-centered creative experiences bring us to the center of our beings where we can experience immense joy, where we can do some of our best learning as human travelers and give a great gift to our world.  Her newest passion is learning to play the cello.  She can be reached at Julie@musicforpeople.org

 

Mary Knysh

Mary Knysh is a professional musician, multi instrumentalist, recording artist, innovative workshop facilitator and educator.  She is a Certified MLP Graduate and has served on the MLP staff for over ten years both in the US and in Switzerland.  
 
Mary is a certified Orff Schulwerk clinician and has presented at Orff conferences throughout the United States, Europe and Australia.  
 
She is an artist on the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts roster, Young Audiences of New Jersey, New York BOCES.  Mary travels throughout the United States and Europe offering performances, workshops, corporate events and artist in residencies. Mary is the author of a new book, "BoomDoPA" that serves as a guidebook for facilitating ethnic influenced music improvisations activities with groups of any age and experience.
 
Over the past twenty years Mary has worked with a wide range of communities including corporate, health care, and educational.  Mary can be reached at mary@rhythmicconnections.com and her website is http://www.rhythmicconnections.com.

 

Lynn Miller

Lynn Miller
Lynn Miller is the coordinator for the
Music for People Musicianship Program, the Graduate Program, and is on staff
for the MLP International Program in Switzerland.  She facilitates the
vocal track for the Art of Improvisation.  
 
Lynn is a past adjunct faculty member in the Music Therapy Department of Immaculata University. Currently she is practicing Music therapy at Roxborough Hospital and in her private practice, specializing in therapeutic voice work.  
 
Musically, Lynn has a background in folk, jazz and is influenced by world music. Lynn is an inter-modal artist with a passion for music, dance and visual art. Home and abroad, she bridges community and the arts through community singing and community built murals. For additional information visit http://www.lynnmiller.org

 

 

Eric Miller

Eric Miller, Ph.D is a certified biofeedback therapist, board-certified music therapist and author of the new book: Bio-guided Music Therapy.  
Eric is actively involved with Music for People and has served as Executive Director since 1997.  Eric is credited with development of the MfP Europe program, the community service initiative, on-site digital recording and CD operations, and much behind the scenes effort.  He is also president of Expressive Therapy Concepts, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the healing power of the arts to our communities.

Eric also directs the Biofeedback Network, and serves as adjunct faculty in Music Therapy at various Universities and Institutes.

In his spare time, Eric chairs the Pennsylvania Badminton Association. He has reached the finals in the PA State Badminton Championships, has been nationally ranked in the United States, and coaches the Bryn Mawr Collegevarsity Badminton team.  He may be reached at Eric@Musicforpeople.org.

 

Jim Oshinsky

James Oshinsky, Ph.D. is a psychologist and musician who has been part of
Music for People since its inception.

Jim helped formalize Music for People's training programs, especially in the area of group dynamics and leadership.

He is the author of Return to Child,
Music for People's Guide to Improvising Music and Authentic Group Leadership.

A guitarist, bassist, percussionist and singer, Jim has led sessions in many aspects of musicianship at Music for People sessions and in his own Music From the Heart workshops. Behind the scenes, Jim has served Music for People as a staff member, director, board member and board president. He has a private practice in psychology and teaches college classes in psychology and music at Adelphi University in New York. 

Web sites: 
Music-from-the-heart.com
Droshinskyonline.com
Email: oceansky@optonline.net

 

 

Bonnie Darling

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